Gary Simpson, Jr.
Over the weekend I had the absolute honor of returning the remains of Gary Simpson Jr to his sister and brother. He had been missing for 40 years. I will be writing a story how This came about and on everyone involved that helped in getting him home. There are many. Stay tune for a really good heart warming story.
“The beginning”.
I first met the person that I would come to know as Gary completely by accident. You see, we had no idea who he was for years. Gary was found on 12/08/1982 by the Jackson County Sheriffs Department, in a marshy part of Dog River, an obvious murdered victim.
Just a few day before, the Sheriffs Department had just recovered a small child from the same waterway, know for years as “Baby Jane” and then “Delta Dawn”. She was recently identified as, Alisha Ann Heinrich, by Othram labs.
It was immediately apparent that the two recoveries were not related. Gary had been in the water for months and Alisha only for a very short time. A lot of media attention went into Alisha’s case, not so much for Gary’s.
Gary’s remains were basically bones and a few items of clothing and one shoe. Gary’s case just didn’t tug on the media’s emotional string that Alisha’s case did.
Gary’s remains were sent to world renowned Anthropologist Dr Clyde Snow in Oklahoma where they remained until I accidentally found them in 2012 while investigating a completely different homicide. I had been investigating the Janie Sanders 1975 case which led me to the 1982 Malinda Lapree/Sam Little serial killers case to see if there was a connection. They were not connected but I found out that Dr Snow had also looked at Malinda’s remains. I needed the cause and manner of death for Malinda and believed he would have that document. So I called and spoke with Angela Berg and this is how I even knew of the skeletal remains that I now know as Gary Simpson Jr. 
Angela was able to tell me that Dr Snow’s lab had 5 sets of remains that belong to Mississippi. The oldest of Mississippi’s remains had been at his lab since 1977.
You read that right, the Oklahoma Lab had 5 sets of skeletal remains that belong to the state of Mississippi. How could this be and most importantly, why?
I became involved in investigating skeletal remains in 2010, I had learned from our evidence tech Carla Williams Patrick about a new program called Namus. Namus is a basically website/depository ran by the US Justice Department that logs all skeletal, unidentified and Missing persons cases to try and connect the dots between the missing from one area and the found in another area.
This has helped in solving some of these cases. It helps connect investigators of one to investigators of another. It also collects DNA from the sample subjects and test those of people that have missing family members for a match.
Angela Berg asked if I would like to send samples to Namus for DNA. Of course, I said yes on both and she sent me files on the Jackson County cases.
The 1977 case known as ,Escatawpa Jane Doe, had a reconstruction done and the photos were in the files she sent, however, Gary’s case had no such stuff.
I turned all I found over to the Jackson County Sheriffs Department as they were the rightful owners of the cases. I spoke with then Sheriff Mike Byrd and Capt Mick Sears about entering them in Namus system and told them I would enter them as a contributor and they as the investigative agency. Sheriff Byrd agreed. Because of this collaboration, Gary’s DNA was extracted from his bones and a DNA profile for Gary is developed and entered into a system.
I was hopeful of an identification, but after two years of waiting, I got a letter from Namus of no match. I was disappointed but not deterred so I sent him off to the university of Tennessee for a facial reconstruction and received it almost one year later.
At this same time a small group of detectives and evidence techs had started a cold case group and we started researching missing person cases and remains found in our local area.
I found 9 that belong to Jackson County, MS and Harrison County, MS found several more to include Ms Harrison County and Ms Wiggins as they have been named. Both found in 1980. All were sent to our crime lab and then on to Namus for DNA testing. Gary had been one of the first sent.
Well, maybe not one of the first but he was a close second. I then had a reconstruction done by Catyana Falsetti from the “Project Edan” program around 2014. She did an amazing job on this project. I now had a face to look at and for others to see. I posted it to the Namus page, Facebook and few other places in hopes of getting him identified. No luck. Gary was still John Doe. So we waited and waited and yes we waited some more.
A local news station did a story but still no name. So the waiting continued and I went on to other cases. Found more unidentified and posted them, sent them off for reconstruction and they waited with Gary. Gary is becoming one of many. By this time our little cold case group involved agent Jay Burton of the FBI and with his help we had uncovered 103 unsolved cases along the MS Gulf Coast from Louisiana State line to the Alabama State line. Most of these were identified but still unsolved cold cases. The serial Killer Sam little was connected to 7 coastal cases of his 9 Mississippi kills because of this work.
I also began working with Ellen Leech who runs her own website called Mississippi Missing and Unidentified. If you get the chance check out her page.
I was sharing everything I found with other police department, sheriffs department, the FBI in hopes of helping with their cases. Gary, kind of slipped to the side, other cases needed to be worked and so the story continues. Gary is again lost to a system that really didn’t care. It was just a system. It’s only good if u put information in it……..but……..then FBI Jay Burton retired. Kristi Johnson, the Harrison County Crime Tech, and partner in crime was leaving the department to continue teaching. We were the original three that kind of got this all started. I promoted to Lieutenant. Things just kind of stood still for a moment……but In that Moment something happen.
Dr Anastasia Holobinko then stepped outside the box and tried something new. FGG or Forensic Genetic Genealogy which changed everything. Othram Inc was contracted to perform such testing for the Mississippi Crime Lab. Maybe technology had finally caught up…….and ohhh did it. We had located all these remains to include Gary and now technology was here.
Back to Gary. Well Othram Inc ran by David and Kristen Mittelman, is identifying case after case for MS as well as sounding states. These cases have to be funded. Not a lot of money out there for this new technology. I mean who really wants to spend $5,000 to $10,000 to fund a case not knowing you’re going to get a result and not really understanding the technology.
Then, a few more cases are identified and in steps Carla Davis, who funded the entire amount for Gary. Who does that? Carla does and she has done it for more then just Gary’s case. Carla has funded any case that has Mississippi roots. She is truly amazing and she does the genetic genealogy. She performs her magic and helped to connect the dots to long lost relatives of Gary Simpson Jr.
The case is then turned over to the Jackson County Sheriffs Department where Investigator Eddie Clark was given the task of taking the leads or tips and finding these relatives. He struck gold. His hard work paid off. He found Gary’s aunt and a sample of her DNA connected the dots.
Gary is no longer a John Doe. He is Gary Peter Simpson Jr.
you might think this is the end of the story but you would be wrong.
“Almost Home”
The Jackson County Sheriffs Department is on a roll. Investigator Eddie Clark and investigator Matthew Hoggett have been working all these unidentified person cases since the new technology has been introduced by Othram Inc. They first identified Alisha Heinrich, then Kimberly Funk, Clara Birdlong and now Gary Simpson. Excellent work put into every case. Job well done.
Is this the end? No, not even close. The remains have to be prepared for transportation. You cant just take human remains across state lines in a bag and just say ,Here you go. There is a process. The County Coroner gets involved and a funeral home has to properly prepare the remains. All death certificates and paperwork associated with human remains has to be completed. Someone has to pay the fees to cremate. Who?
With Gary’s case I had built a connection to him. Beside the Clara Birdlong case, Gary’s case had been on my list the longest. You see, when Gary’s family reached out wanting to know answer they wanted to speak to whoever knew the most about Gary. This just happen to be me because of the accidental discovery back in 2012. I had nothing to do with locating the family. This was all Investigator Clark and Hoggett. I did however have everything to do with putting him in a system that made him searchable. I had everything to do with getting him back to Mississippi where he belonged, or so I thought.
His sister, Tonya Taylor, wanted more. She demanded more, She wanted to know when he was found, where he was found, how he was found and how he died. She wanted to know where he had been for the last 40 years, Hell! I wanted to know where he had been for the last 40 years. She even wanted his clothes and one shoe that he was found with. Tonya wanted to know EVERYTHING. Who wouldn’t?
So Tonya Googled the case and saw where I had been trying to identify him since 2012. She saw that for 10 years I’ve known about Gary and out of the blue she called me. She said my number was on Facebook, which it is, and she wanted to know everything I knew.
So, we talked and talked and emailed and became friends. We had a connection that normally doesn’t exist. Typically, law enforcement find a body, find a relative, give the body back, and on to the next case. Its systematic with almost zero emotions.
We (Law Enforcement) have what’s called disconnect. The person doesn’t really mean anything to us. We are not connected. It’s just a case and usually not the only one. It’s the reality of law-enforcement. We see so much negative in the world that we cancel it out. We don’t have an emotional attachment to someone we never knew.
Tonya, on the other hand was very emotional. It was her big brother and she was connected. She was all in 1000% wondering what the hell had happen to him for 40 years. She had more questioned then we did.
In reality, Gary would have to be cremated before he could go home or he could have been donated to science. Tonya wasn’t having that, But before Gary could be reunited with his brothers and Sisters, a tragedy stuck Tonya’s family again. They had another sibling die. The family of five almost made it to a union with Gary but the family had to deal with another family death.
So a set back. The money chipped in for Gary was now for the brother. New Orleans funerals are not cheap. The situation with Gary was a little different. Gary had to be prepared in MS which is a cost and then again in New Orleans for the opening of Gary’s mother’s tomb. People don’t do this for free.
By this time, months had gone by since Gary was identified. Tonya calls me wanting to know what’s the status of Gary’s remains. She told me the story about Gary’s brother. I didn’t have that answer for her but I told her I would look into it and I did just that.
I called the MS Crime Lab and spoke to Anastasia Holobinko and found out Gary was ready to come back to Jackson County, MS. My next call was to the coroners office where I spoke to Bruce Lynd Jr. about getting Gary back to Jackson County. Bruce jumped right on it and within days Gary was brought back to Jackson County.
The last time Gary was here was in 1982 and someone murdered him and threw him in a river like a bag of garbage. That is the hardcore fact. What can we(people) do for Gary now in a more positive way. He obviously wasn’t treated right the last time he was here but this time was a little different.
I got some numbers together on what it would take to prepare Gary to go home and then I went to the Hilton Garden Inn to drink coffee with a bunch of friends. Strange right, nope not at all. It was a blessing.
I told of Gary’s story and everyone at the table and some guy that just overheard the story, from the richest to the poorest, started throwing money in a pile.
At this same time Jessie Phillips who owns a mortuary business walked in. He told me to take the money collected and go to Guardian Angel in Pascagoula and if I didn’t have enough that he would donate the rest.
So who donated money.
Austin and Dominique Moore
Vernon and Beth Smith
Michael Silverman
Steven Mason
Scott McElroy
John Gaffney
Greg and Beth Johnston
Darren and Jessica Versiga
Danny and Jennifer Blythe
Carla Davis
Bruce Jr and Gabrielle Lynd
Jesse Phillips
“Homecoming”.
In less then 6 hours I had collected enough money to at least get Gary cremated in preparation for his homecoming. So I called Tonya and told her what had just happen. Tonya cried and she claimed she had just prayed for an answer and then I called. She said that this is God led and she couldn’t wait to tell the rest of her family. This just felt right! This just had “Feel Good” all over it.
A short time later Jesse Phillip called me and told me to go see Symone at Guardian Angels Funeral Services and that he just spoke with her. I arrived and brought all the funds collected and arrangements were made for Gary. Symone was absolutely wonderful and she handled everything at that point.
Tonya wrote the following below listed words and sent it to all of us that donated to Gary. Please read:
“Kind, Thoughtful, Caring, and Loving are just a few words to describe your act of kindness towards our brother and family.
It’s at this moment, we could feel the genuine compassion of your love. You didn’t know him; you only knew the story Detective Darren shared with you and you thought that was enough.
You were strangers that easily became FRIENDS!!
I felt that each process, each step had been ordered by God! Each time I felt defeated, God gave me a sword to tell me to stay in and keep fighting.
Funny part of this story is, I kept hearing my mother’s voice saying “Tanya, you can’t fail your Big Brother and give up.” I also knew I could not fail my mom either. She died not knowing what happened to her son, worrying for years, and thinking he was still alive and would walk up to her door one day. Even in spirit, I still listen to my mother. 
Story seems so unbelievable and Dateline worthy….40 years in the wilderness, but his identification was God’s Promise to Us.
I have witnessed humanity at its best and for that my heart is filled with joy and appreciation.
Thank You Thank You Thank you is all I can say. Your unselfish act has blessed my family and we are forever grateful.
From Strangers to Friends, I love each of You,
Tanya Leal-Taylor and the entire Leal-Simpson Family”
Tonya then invited my wife, Jessica, and I to a get together with her family and friends in New Orleans. I absolutely accepted and looked forward to it. I also told her that I would pick up Gary from Guardian Angels and bring him with me instead of him being mailed. She loved the idea.
I picked up Gary in a generic funeral urn supplies by Guardian Angels and brought him to my home. The urn was really just plain. I sent a text to all that donated with a picture of the urn and told them all that Gary would be on his way home in a few days and again thanked all for their help.
Well, just when you think things are the best it could be under the circumstance it got just a little better. I received a call from Bruce Lynd Jr. He told me to meet with him and that he wanted to donate a wooded urn for his homecoming. Wow! It was perfect.
So the day is arriving and I’m getting ready. It’s the morning before and Gary and I go meet the guys that donated to him. We drank coffee and ate breakfast with Gary. It was an honor and very warm goodbye to Gary. Everyone touch and then said bye to Gary. We took a picture of the group with Gary and sent to Tonya. Tonya again cried. She said we treated Gary as a person and not just an item. She loved it.
Jessica, Gary and I left that next morning in route to New Orleans for his reunion. We met the family and friends at a place called Zea. Wonderful food. We were in a restaurant full of people and Tonya asked the manager if the music could be turned down. They did as she asked and Tonya wanted me to stand and tell everyone Gary’s story and I did just that. We then had the privilege of a 24 year veteran of New Orleans Police Department and Preacher give grace. We ate and enjoyed each other’s company. Our families are connected forever.
I learned that Gary was a big brother and a Son, I learn that Gary was left handed, I learned that Gary’s mother would give him money for his brothers and sisters and he would take them to the movies and he would sit with them all day. I learned that as he got older he got into things like most did. The family remembers the last time they saw Gary. Two New Orleans police officers came to their home and took him away. He never came home.
This is Gary’s story. How he got to Mississippi we will probably never know. Do I believe the Policeman killed him? No! but whatever happen to him after that is another story that may or may not show its ugly head one day. I do have a theory but for now I will keep to myself. I hope you enjoyed this story.
By: Darren B. Versiga